St. B's turns up intensity in win

FITCHBURG -- The St. Bernard's girls' basketball team flipped a switch in the second half on Tuesday night.

The Bernardians went into lockdown mode on defense, allowing only six points after halftime, as the Blue and Gold rolled over visiting Marian 49-26 at the Activity Center.

St. Bernard's improves to an impressive 15-4 on the season, and has just a non-league tilt remaining against Worcester South at home on Thursday. With the defeat, the Mustangs fell to 8-11.

"We talked at halftime about really picking up our intensity," St. Bernard's head coach Kate Maki said. "We came out a little bit flat in the first half, it just wasn't our usual defense. At halftime we talked about trying to get some 5 second calls, to start the half and try to disrupt some things. We wanted to switch our screens when we had to, and make sure everybody was accounted for defensively."

St. Bernard's forward Samantha Battaini scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, despite only playing 10 minutes after the break. Pesky defender Tarah Crowe netted eight points, while post players Mikala Malboeuf and Allyson Esielionis each had six.

"Battaini was definitely the spark for us in the second half," Maki said. "She hit all of her free throws, which is definitely key for her. She's been a great leader for us all season and to have her light up again when we needed her was really great for us."

Pacing Marian was sharpshooter Elizabeth Horan who scored a team-high 11 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc.

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The St. Bernard's starters made an early exit in the fourth quarter, but proved to be quite dominant in their second-half minutes.

Despite shooting a below-average percentage to start the half, the Blue and Gold made up for it grabbing 13 offensive rebounds early on.

"In the first half we didn't hit the boards all that hard," Maki said. "We were one and done on offensive possessions. So again we talked at halftime about controlling the boards and getting a good rebound to use to our advantage."

The defensive intensity was the key, as St. Bernard's averaged a little over one turnover per minute, forcing a total of 11.

It seemed like both teams would pick up where they left off in the beginning of the second half as they traded baskets, holding the Bernardian lead at two points. But over the next six minutes, St. Bernard's ripped off a huge 14-0 run to put the game away.

Rachel Pelletier drilled a trey to get it started then Esielionis connected on a putback to extend the lead to seven points. Battaini capitalized on a turnover, with a fastbreak bucket, then connected on a pair of freebies. Crowe stole a Mustang pass, then went coast-to-coast for the layup which elevated the lead to 13.

Two split trips to the line by Amy Fnine and one from Jill Pinard gave the Bernardians a commanding 38-22 lead with 56 seconds left in the third.

The Bernardians went on a 11-0 run to end the third, lasting all the way until the last minute of the game. Crowe sank two free throws and Esielionis scored on a dish from Battaini. Good fortunes came Battaini's way for her generosity as she sank two freebies, and converted an old fashioned three-point play, marking the end of the day for the starters.

"We started our offense too high in the second half," Marian head coach Chris Erath said. "It was harder to get the passes, and we missed a few open shots and things started to snow ball."

St. Bernard's used a 12-0 run spanning the first two quarters to build up a 10-point lead. But Marian closed out the half with a 12-4 run to cut the halftime deficit to 22-20.

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